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Halo 4
Halo 4 is a first-person shooter video game developed by 343 Industries and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360 video game console. The game was released in most territories worldwide on November 6, 2012. Halo 4's story begins four years, seven months and ten days after the ending of Halo 3 in 2557; the player assumes the role of the Master Chief, a cybernetically-enhanced supersoldier. The story is mainly set on a Forerunner planet known as Requiem, where Master Chief encounters the collection of alien races known as the Covenant and ancient warriors of the Forerunner empire known as the Prometheans. Master Chief is accompanied by the artificial intelligence construct Cortana. Halo 4 was officially announced on June 6, 2011, at the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). On September 26, 2012, it was announced that the game's development was complete. Halo 4 grossed US$220 million on its launch day, with an estimated gross of $300 million in its opening week, marking a new record for the franchise.1 More than one million people played Halo 4 on Xbox Live within the first 24 hours of release.2 As of December 6, 2012, the game has sold approximately four million copies.3 The game received generally positive reviews from professional critics on release. Contents hide 1 Gameplay 1.1 Modes 2 Synopsis 2.1 Setting and characters 2.2 Campaign 2.3 Spartan Ops 3 Development 3.1 Design 3.2 Audio 3.3 Cast 4 Release 4.1 Merchandise and promotion 4.2 Promotional videos 4.3 Sales 5 Post-release 6 Reception 6.1 Critical 6.2 Accolades 7 References 8 External links editGameplay Player character Master Chief attacks an enemy Promethean Knight with an assault rifle in Halo 4's story-based campaign mode. Halo 4 is a shooter game, in which players predominantly experience gameplay from a first-person perspective; the game perspective switches to third-person when using certain weapons, armor abilities and vehicles. The player's head-up display (HUD) shows real-time information on the player character's armor system, such as shield status, information on current weapons and armor abilities, and waypoints for goals and objectives.4 The HUD also has a motion tracker that detects allies, enemies, and vehicles within a certain radius of the player.4 The game sees the return of the Covenant as foes, and introduces a new type of enemy called the Prometheans, which are Forerunner constructs.56 There are three types of Prometheans: Knights serve as leaders of the group and are considered as the deadliest of the Promethean forces; Crawlers are a weaker class which often attack in larger packs; Watchers are deployed by Knights, offer support and have the ability to shield or revive Promethean allies.56 Halo 4 features updated versions of many UNSC and Covenant weaponry from previous Halo games, as well as introducing new weapons for the humans, Covenant and Prometheans.56 The game also features reusable equipment, called armor abilities, which were introduced in Halo: Reach.7 New armor abilities are autosentry; hardlight shield, which activates a protective barrier similar to a riot shield; Promethean vision, which diminishes environment detail and shows hidden players as silhouettes; regeneration field, which heals all players in close proximity and can emit a short range kinetic blast; and thruster pack, which allows the player to launch themself several feet in a horizontal direction.7 Returning abilities include active camouflage; jetpack; and hologram, which creates a facsimile of the player running towards a target point. Sprinting returns in Halo 4, however players can now use it independently of their armor ability.8 New gameplay mechanics introduced to the series include throwing and catching, which has been implemented into the multiplayer game types: Oddball and Grifball.9 editModes Halo 4's story or campaign mode can be played alone or cooperatively with one other player in split screen, and up to three other players through Xbox Live.1011 Unlike in Halo 3 cooperative campaign where each player takes the role of a different character, in Halo 4 all players assume the role of Master Chief.11 Players can enable skulls in the campaign menu which act as gameplay modifiers such as increasing enemy health, changing NPC behavior or removing elements of the player's HUD.12 The campaign also features terminals which provide the player with additional backstory.1314 Upon finding a terminal, a video is unlocked and can viewed in the Halo Waypoint application on the Xbox 360.1314 In the multiplayer component of Halo 4, titled Infinity multiplayer, players build their own custom Spartan-IV super-soldier and advance in their multiplayer career which spans across gameplay in War Games, Spartan Ops, Forge, and Theater.15 Players can advance through ranks by earning experience from completing challenges and multiplayer matches.15 At each rank, players earn Spartan Points, which are used to purchase gameplay items such as weapons, armor abilities and various upgrades for personal loadouts.15 Items for visual customization are unlocked by gaining ranks and completing certain goals.15 Once players attain rank SR-50, they can enlist into a Specialization, enabling them to unlock further cosmetic and gameplay enhancing customizations for their Spartan.15 Each Specialization is composed of ten ranks, and players cannot switch the Specialization until it is completed.15 War Games is a competitive multiplayer matchmaking mode.15 There are various playlists with different game types ranging from standard deathmatch to objective oriented modes such as capture the flag.16 War Games can be played with up to sixteen players on Xbox Live and has four-player split screen support, although some War Games playlists may restrict the number of players from a single console.10 In Halo 4, players have the ability to join certain multiplayer matchmaking sessions while they are in progress.8 Spartan Ops is a story-driven episodic game mode, that can be played solo or cooperatively on two player split screen and on Xbox Live with up to three other players.1017 It serves as a replacement for the Firefight game mode that featured in Halo: Reach and Halo 3: ODST.17 Season one of Spartan Ops delivers a cinematic and five new objective-based missions each week over a period of ten weeks.18 The story for Spartan Ops is set six months after the events of the Halo 4 campaign.19 Forge is a map-editing tool that was first featured in Halo 3; like War Games it has both split screen and Xbox Live support.20 Using the tool, players can edit default multiplayer maps by adding or modifying spawn points, weapons and items.20 Forge in Halo 4 contains a new "magnet" feature for connecting forge pieces together.21 Theater mode allows players to view films, create video clips, and capture screen shots from recent matches in War Games or custom games.21 Halo 4 also offers a file sharing system that allows players to upload and share video clips, screenshots, custom maps and game variants.22 editSynopsis editSetting and characters Halo 4 takes place in a futuristic science fiction setting in the year 2557, four years after the events of Halo 3.23 The game's backstory and franchise novels detail that hundreds of thousands of years before the modern era, humans were one of several interstellar civilizations. Following a war with the parasitic Flood, the humans and their allies came into conflict with the Forerunners, a powerful race that upheld a policy of benevolent shepherding of other races they called the Mantle. After years of conflict the Forerunners beat the humans and stripped them of their technology and empire. The Forerunners soon fought the Flood themselves; after exhausting every other strategic option available to them the Forerunners activated weapons of mass destruction known as the Halo Array, killing all unprotected sentient life in the galaxy to deprive the Flood of their food. Life that the Forerunners catalogued was then reseeded throughout the galaxy.2425 In the 26th century, space-faring humanity (organized under the United Nations Space Command, or UNSC) comes under attack from the Covenant, an alien collective of species that worships the Forerunners as gods, and believe that activating the Halos will bring about salvation, not destruction.26 The human supersoldier Master Chief John-117, along with his artificial intelligence companion Cortana, are instrumental in stopping the Halos from being activated, and the Flood from once again menacing the galaxy.27 At the end of Halo 3, Chief and Cortana are left stranded in unknown space aboard the remains of the frigate Forward Unto Dawn.27 Much of Halo 4's campaign and Spartan Ops' missions take place on or near the Forerunner planet Requiem. Part of the game also takes place on Ivanoff Research Station—a human base in orbit around the Halo ringworld Installation 03—and in Earth's orbit. editCampaign Four years after the events of Halo 3, still floating in space, Forward Unto Dawn drifts towards Requiem. Cortana wakes Master Chief from cryonic sleep shortly before rogue Covenant forces board the vessel.28 The remnants of Dawn are caught in Requiem's gravity well and pass through an opening on the planet's surface to crash-land on its interior. As Chief and Cortana explore Requiem, fighting hostile Covenant and Prometheans, Cortana malfunctions. She reveals that she is past the usual operating period of an AI, and is becoming "rampant", a declining mental state where AIs slowly "think" themselves to death.29 Chief promises to get Cortana to Earth, believing that Cortana's creator, Doctor Catherine Halsey, can prevent or reverse Cortana's condition.30 Chief and Cortana pick up garbled transmissions from a human ship, Infinity, who have picked up Dawn's distress call. Cortana attempts to warn Infinity away from Requiem's gravity well and directs the Chief to deactivate what she believes are communications jammers. Instead, Chief releases the Didact, an ancient Forerunner warrior, from imprisonment. The Didact takes control of the Prometheans and Covenant and attacks Infinity after it is dragged into Requiem. Chief makes contact with Infinity and brings the ship's weapons back online to repulse the Didact's attack. Chief and Cortana recommend attacking the Didact while he is vulnerable, but Infinity captain Del Rio orders them to destroy the gravity well so the ship can escape. In the process, Chief is contacted by a Forerunner known as the Librarian; the wife of the Didact, as well as ancient humanity's protector. She explains that the Forerunners were split on how to combat the Flood. After failing to discover a way to immunize biological beings from the parasite, the Didact used a device called the Composer to convert the warriors under his command into digital versions immune to infection. Requiring more soldiers, the Didact forcibly converted captured humans into Prometheans, before being stopped and imprisoned by the Librarian. The Librarian, who has guided humanity's development, accelerates the Chief's evolution; this grants him immunity to the Composer. After destroying the gravity well, Del Rio orders a retreat back to Earth, doubting the Chief and Cortana's testimony. The Master Chief disobeys orders to stand down and relinquish the malfunctioning Cortana, and stays behind to oppose the Didact. Infinity XO Commander Lasky gives Chief an armed transport and wishes him luck. Chief and Cortana attempt to sabotage the Didact's ship before he leaves, but when they are unsuccessful they follow the Didact to a Halo ring, Installation 03. The Composer has been moved from the ring onto the nearby Ivanoff Research Station, which the Covenant attack. The Chief defends Ivanoff, but the Didact retrieves the Composer and uses it on the station, composing every individual except the Chief. Chief and Cortana use a fighter to follow the Didact's ship through slipspace towards Earth. Aided by Infinity and the UNSC home fleet, the Chief boards the Didact's ship with a nuclear warhead. Cortana inserts copies of herself into the Didact's computer systems to overwhelm the Didact's shield, but not before the Didact directs the Composer at Earth. With the help of Cortana, the Chief defeats the Didact, who falls into a slipspace corridor generated underneath the Composer. Chief detonates the bomb, and finds himself in a blue realm where Cortana appears. She explains they were successful in stopping the Composer and that she saved Chief from the blast, although she cannot return with him. Cortana touches Chief's armor, backs away and disappears; the Master Chief is found by a UNSC rescue team and is taken back to Infinity, where he, mourning the loss of Cortana, talks with Lasky about Earth, duty, and what his duty as a soldier means. Lasky repeats something Cortana said earlier about not being just a machine driven by duty to protect humanity. In a post-credits cutscene, UNSC forces descend on the city of New Phoenix, the location the Didact used the Composer on, to find its inhabitants dead. In a narration, the Didact proclaims the Forerunner's role as custodians of the galaxy having to bear The Mantle of Responsibility, and humanity as the greatest threat in the galaxy. Master Chief removes his armor aboard Infinity; if the player completes the game on Legendary difficulty, the Chief's eyes are briefly shown. editSpartan Ops The events of Spartan Ops take place six months after the end of Halo 4's campaign.31 Infinity returns to Requiem, where Covenant insurgents—led by Jul 'Mdama, who styles himself as "the Didact's Hand"—and Prometheans are still active.3132 Sarah Palmer, commander of the Spartan-IVs, deploys Spartan squads to clear out the Covenant and Promethean forces in Requiem's interior in order to set up research bases.31 During the mission, Crimson Squad recovers a mysterious artifact being excavated by Covenant; Infinity scientist Doctor Glassman disappears after studying the device.33 Catherine Halsey is brought to Infinity due to her knowledge of Forerunner technology.32 She is kept under guard by marines and Spartans including Gabriel Thorne, who lost his family during the Didact's attack on New Phoenix.34 While studying the artifact, Halsey begins receiving messages on her computer from an anonymous sender.34 The source of the transmissions is revealed to be 'Mdama, who captures Glassman and forces him to work on a Forerunner device that supposedly contains the Librarian.3435 Pursuing 'Mdama's troops, Crimson Squad recovers another artifact.35 When Halsey examines the device, it displays images Thorne recognizes as depicting New Phoenix.35 Lasky reveals to Halsey and the Spartans that the UNSC knows Prometheans are former humans.35 Approaching the artifact looking for answers, Thorne is teleported to Requiem and captured by Covenant.35 Palmer arrests Halsey for communicating with 'Mdama.35 Thorne escapes captivity outside 'Mdama's base, and escapes with Glassman; they are rescued by Majestic Squad.3637 Halsey uses an override code to force Infinity's AI, Roland, to assist her. Seeking information withheld from her concerning the Librarian, Halsey learns that Master Chief is alive. Halsey contacts M'dama to try and strike a deal, as they both want to find the Librarian; Roland breaks free of Halsey's control and summons guards to apprehend Halsey. Lasky decides to place Halsey in cryogenic sleep to prevent further trouble, but Promethean forces invade Infinity, capture Halsey and teleport her to 'Mdama's base.3837 Lasky orders that they move away from Infinity but Roland informs him that the artifact is acting as a slipspace anchor, keeping them in place. Serin Osman, head of the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), orders Lasky to kill Halsey, however he is reluctant to do it.3739 Palmer sets off to Requiem to execute Halsey; Lasky sends a message to Majestic Squad to intervene and rescue Halsey from 'Mdama.39 Halsey steps into the Forerunner device and makes contact with the Librarian. Librarian gives Halsey the two pieces of the "Janus Key", an instrument that provides the real-time location for every piece of Forerunner technology in the galaxy; Librarian instructs Halsey to use the key to advance humankind. Upon receiving the key, Halsey exits the device and 'Mdama steals one piece of it from her. Halsey passes the second piece to Thorne as Majestic Squad and Palmer arrive. Palmer wounds Halsey just before a Promethean teleports 'Mdama and Halsey from the base.39 'Mdama sets Requiem to collide with the nearby sun and orders his forces to evacuate the planet.40 Crimson and Majestic disable Requiem-based artifacts that anchor Infinity to Requiem, allowing the ship to escape shortly before the installation is destroyed. Meanwhile, Halsey, who lost her left arm, tells 'Mdama she has been betrayed by the UNSC and offers to ally herself to exact revenge.41 editDevelopment Halo 4 and Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary were both officially announced on June 6, 2011, at the E3 2011.42 Halo 4 is the first installment in the Reclaimer trilogy (or Reclaimer Saga) of Halo games.4344 Whereas the original trilogy of Halo games was developed by Bungie, Halo 4 was developed by 343 Industries, a subsidiary of Microsoft Studios.45 343 Industries was established by Microsoft Studios to oversee the Halo universe following Bungie's separation from Microsoft in 2007.46 Unlike the original trilogy, the story for Halo 4 was designed to be part of a three-game arc from the beginning.47 In addition, 343 Industries aimed for "a more complete connectivity between all of their future media than before"; relating Halo 4's story to the Forerunner Saga and Kilo-Five Trilogy novels as well as using terminals in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary to introduce background knowledge on the Forerunners.4748 The studio's creative team, which included nearly 200 people led by creative director Josh Holmes, started developing the game as early as 2009.4748 In 2008, while 343 Industries was still in formation, Microsoft approached Starlight Runner Entertainment to help assemble the "Halo bible". Starlight Runner is a New York based company that specializes in creating and producing transmedia franchises. Their job was to examine all content of the Halo universe, clean it up, and make it coherent and understandable for the people involved with the creation of Halo games and media. Frank O'Connor, a content manager at Bungie, assisted the team with the creation of the "Halo bible" before moving to 343 Industries to become Halo franchise development director.4849 Certain Affinity, an independent video game development studio, was contracted by 343 Industries to help with the development of Halo 4; they started work on the game in early 2011.50 Certain Affinity has worked alongside Bungie and 343 Industries on producing multiplayer content for previous Halo titles.20 The studio developed the Forge mode, co-developed War Games and created a number of maps and multiplayer modes for Halo 4.50 On July 7, 2012, a pre-release build of Halo 4's Forge mode was showcased by 343 Industries and Certain Affinity at the Rooster Teeth Expo which took place at the Austin Convention Center.205051 On September 26, 2012, Frank O'Connor announced that the game's development was complete.52 editDesign During the concepting process of Halo 4, Frank O'Connor decided it would be best for the franchise to explore the Forerunner fiction of the Halo universe, which had remained largely a mystery before 343 Industries' involvement in the franchise.48 This ultimately led to the creation of a new race of enemy, the Prometheans, warriors of the Forerunner empire.53 Given that the Forerunners themselves had never been featured in previous Halo games, the design process for the appearance of the Prometheans was long and tedious; many variations of different character models were concepted before the final design.5354 The main goal when designing their appearance was to make them resonate with the player, and evoke the image of the Forerunner architecture and language that had been portrayed in previous Halo media.53 Upon death, the Promethean Knight dissolves from the point where it was last shot; this visual effect also occurs when certain enemies are killed by Promethean weapons.53 From a gameplay standpoint the design for the Prometheans also needed to fit in well with the sandbox so they would be suitable enemies to fight.53 A goal when designing their behaviour was to make them highly adaptive from a tactical standpoint.53 For example, the Promethean Knight can phase in and out of space, allowing it to retreat or charge the player at any given moment; this changes the way that a player engages in a combat encounter.53 On December 2, 2011, Frank O'Connor said that both Master Chief and Cortana will undergo "radical" changes in appearance for the new game, some of them attributed to better graphics and others to story elements.29 The new design of the Master Chief's armor went under a number of iterations during development.5554 The studio wanted Master Chief's appearance to convey an imposing mass and weight, to show that one of his characteristics is his 800 pound armor.5456 They studied the armor changes that were made for the Spartans in Halo: Reach, which were much bulkier than renditions in previous Halo games.56 A piece of concept art showing the gravity defying architecture and scenery of the Forerunner planet, Requiem. The senior art director for Halo 4 is Kenneth Scott.4757 He described the visual style of Halo 4 as being more ingrained in the expanded universe fiction, and more "mature" than before.47 With the game's increased focus on the Forerunners, the artists invested heavily into the look and feel of Forerunner technology.4757 The game also features more diversity in Forerunner structures, including fully active Forerunner technology as opposed to the mostly inert and abandoned structures seen in the earlier games.4757 The majority of the game is lit statically using lightmaps; this allowed the art team to achieve realistic lighting effects with full global illumination and ambient occlusion.57 Image-based lighting is also used to ground scenes and make everything fit together better.57 The cooperative Spartan Ops mode originally began as a Firefight-type mode, similar to that featured in Halo: Reach, but was composed of different objective-oriented mission types. Over the course of development, changes were made to Spartan Ops to include a narrative that would tie Halo 4's multiplayer together. The missions were designed primarily for four player co-op. The Spartan Ops development team worked with the narrative team to use ideas and storylines to shape the mode such that the cinematics would tie in with the missions.1958 Glasgow based animation studio, Axis Animation, assisted 343 Industries on the creation of CGI cinematics for the Spartan Ops game mode.59 Axis have produced animations for numerous video games, including the award-winning announcement trailer for Dead Island.59 To make each Spartan Ops episode as engaging as possible the team at Axis shot and edited episodes in live action using performance capture.59 The team then used the reference cameras at the live action shoot to create a performance edit, before shooting with CG cameras to provide more coverage of all scenes and a greater selection of shots for the editorial team.59 The shading team at Axis made use of the 3D animation package, Houdini, to procedurally generate the environment in the cinematics.59 Axis worked with Glasgow based audio post production company Savalas on sound design and the final mix for the Spartan Ops cinematics.59 Facial motion capture was also utilized to take the movements and facial expressions from actors and apply them to the in-game cinematics for both Spartan Ops and campaign.5559 Performance capture for both campaign and Spartan Ops cutscenes was directed and recorded at Giant Studios.5559 Axis worked in conjunction with Giant Studios and Cubic Motion to develop a special facial motion capture solution that would retain facial expressions from the actors when creating the animation.59 The game utilizes much of the "sandbox" that has been featured across all six prior Halo games and other media, in addition to introducing new characters, weapons, vehicles, and other elements.47 The game engine used is a heavily modified version of the engine established by Bungie.60 Unlike previous games in the Halo series, Halo 4 runs natively in 720p resolution.60 The game itself comes on two discs and requires 4GB of available storage space either on a 8GB USB flash drive or Xbox 360 hard drive to play the multiplayer component.6061 Disc two is used to install the multiplayer content and disc one is used for launching the game.10 Due to rendering issues and significant engine changes, Theater support for Halo 4's campaign and Spartan Ops was not featured in the game on launch; however 343 Industries expressed that this feature may be implemented in the future.1062 As with previous Halo titles, 343 Industries provides a statistic tracking service for players of Halo 4.63 Player data such as game history, character progression, and various statistics can be accessed in game or via the Halo Waypoint website.63 The web services team at 343 Industries utilized the Windows Azure Service Bus messaging infrastructure to relay data from the Xbox Live network to back-end databases, where player data and information is stored.63 editAudio See also: Halo 4 Original Soundtrack On April 11, 2012, it was announced that British record producer and score composer Neil Davidge would be the lead composer for the Halo 4 Original Soundtrack.64 Davidge is best known for his work as a co-writer and producer for Massive Attack, and has also composed the scores for numerous films.6566 Davidge intended to add "a touch of romance" to the score as well as adding more electronic sounds while keeping Halo's style.6768 Sotaro Tojima, best known for his work on Konami's Castlevania: Circle of the Moon and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, serves as Halo 4's audio director.47 The team has performed many live audio recording sessions, several of which occurred in Tasmania, Australia. Some of these recording sessions took place in generally inhospitable environments, such as underwater, in fire, and in ice, through the use of specially designed microphones;47 other recording sessions have utilized "home made" explosives.69 Tojima intended for the game's audio to be clearly grounded in the Halo universe, while also having a more realistic quality than in past titles.47 editCast Voice actors returning to reprise their roles in Halo 4 include Steve Downes as Master Chief, and Jen Taylor as both Cortana and Halsey.5570 Voices for new characters include Mark Rolston as Captain Andrew Del Rio, Darren O'Hare as Thomas Lasky, Jennifer Hale as Sarah Palmer, Adrienne Barbeau as Dr. Tillson, Keith Szarabajka as the Didact, Travis Willingham as Jul 'Mdama, and Lori Tritel as the Librarian.707172 Additional voices provided include Conan O'Brien, Andy Richter, and Jason Bradbury.707374 Employees of Rooster Teeth Productions' have cameo roles in Spartan Ops, as characters from the Halo machinima Red vs. Blue.75 Bruce Thomas was the performance capture actor playing the role of Master Chief and actress Mackenzie Mason played the performance role of Cortana.5570 editRelease Halo 4 was released worldwide on November 6, 2012,7677 with the exception of Japan where the game was released on November 8, 2012.11 On February 5, 2013, a digital version of the game was released via the Xbox Live Games on Demand service.78 Prior to the release of the game, Microsoft Studios Vice President, Phil Spencer, stated that the Halo franchise is the "most important entertainment product in the company" and that Halo 4 is the most expensive game that Microsoft has made.46 It is available in two separate retail versions, branded as "Standard" and "Limited" editions,7980 The Limited Edition includes digital items for Xbox 360 avatars and in-game Spartan-IVs, as well as access to future downloadable content in the form of three competitive multiplayer map packs, containing a total of nine maps.7980 It also includes a 90-minute extended version of the live action digital series, Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn and a UNSC Infinity Briefing Packet.7980 At launch, two Specializations were available to all players; only owners of the Halo 4 Limited Edition had access to all eight Specializations.79808182 However, 343 Industries later granted access to players, in certain countries, who participated in an online multiplayer match prior to November 20, 2012.8182 For the remaining players, the Specializations will be gradually unlocked in the months following launch.8182 On July 14, 2012, at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International, Microsoft announced the release of the Xbox 360 Limited Edition Halo 4 console bundle that would launch on November 6, 2012.8384 The bundle features two custom designed controllers, a standard edition of Halo 4, a wired headset, exclusive downloadable content and a Halo 4-themed Xbox 360 containing a 320GB hard drive.8384 It was also announced that Microsoft would be releasing a standalone Xbox 360 Halo 4 Limited Edition wireless controller featuring a different design to the one included in the console bundle.8384 343 Industries and Microsoft also created a Halo 4 art book, titled Awakening: The Art of Halo 4; it was published by Titan Books and released on November 6, 2012.8586 The book contains a collection of concept art and sketches accompanied by commentary from the artists at 343 Industries.8586 A limited edition version of the book was also released with only a thousand copies available worldwide.86 On October 12, 2012, Microsoft reported that their security teams and law enforcement were investigating the possibility of Halo 4 content being leaked on the internet.87 On October 13, 2012, Jessica Shea, Community Manager at 343 Industries, warned fans to be wary of Halo 4 spoilers that have been posted on the internet.8889 On October 13, 2012, at New York Comic Con, Frank O'Connor stated that leaks of the game and footage won't have any impact on how the game is released or marketed and that piracy of high-profile games is sort of inevitable.90 On October 31, 2012, Microsoft and government-owned organization Liechtenstein Marketing transformed the countryside of Liechtenstein for a special live action event for fans and members of the press.91929394 The Gutenberg Castle was transformed into a military fortification where guests tried out Halo 4 for the first time.91929394 A nearby countryside had a United Nations Space Command military camp installed and Balzers Quarry was transformed into a battleground where fifteen actors played out a two hour long adventure.91929394 Over ten thousand shops across forty countries opened for the midnight launch of Halo 4.95 On the evening before the release of the game, a fifty foot diameter illuminated Didact glyph was flown by a helicopter over the River Thames in London, from the Greenwich Peninsula to Tower Bridge.9697 The glyph was created by a team of over fifty designers, engineers and fabricators and took approximately eight weeks to design and construct.97 Following the release of the game, New Zealand censors declared many copies of Halo 4 illegal, after deciding to label it with an R13 rating, restricting it to buyers aged 13 and over.98 Many copies of the game had already gone on sale with an unrestricted M certificate, but these copies are in breach of the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993.98 editMerchandise and promotion On January 19, 2012, McFarlane Toys announced that they would be creating action figures for Halo 4, bringing new characters, weapons and vehicles from the video game to the fans.99 McFarlane Toys CEO and founder, Todd McFarlane said that he was "really excited to be working with the all-star team of 343 Industries".99 McFarlane also stated that they would continue and expand their previous figure line which would be rebranded as Halo Universe.99 On February 14, 2012, toy company Mega Brands revealed a new product series in their Mega Bloks Halo Universe collector's line.100 Both McFarlane Toys and Mega Brands revealed their figures at the 2012 American International Toy Fair.101102 Jada Toys launched a new line of Halo 4 die-cast toys in August 2012;103 Sideshow Collectibles also revealed a Halo 4 Premium Cortana Figure.104 Toy manufacturer Funko released Master Chief, Cortana and Spartan-IV figures for their Pop! Vinyl toyline on November 8, 2012.105 On June 11, 2012, video game console peripherals manufacturer, Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. announced that they had signed a deal with Microsoft Studios to create a Halo 4-branded gaming headset; the product shipped on October 30, 2012.106107108 Microsoft once again partnered up with PepsiCo, having done so previously while promoting Halo 3.15109 In the United States players were able to earn double experience in Halo 4 by purchasing Mountain Dew and Doritos and then redeem product codes found on the packaging.15109 Players were able to redeem product codes from October 15, 2012, on websites that PepsiCo set up for the promotion.15109 In the United Kingdom, a promotion ran from September 24, 2012, until December 4, 2012, where purchasers of Mountain Dew were able to redeem codes to have a chance of winning copies of Halo 4, Xbox 360 avatar items and a trip to Seattle to attend a tour around the studio of 343 Industries.110111 Microsoft also partnered with Pizza Hut branches in the United Kingdom; people who entered the contest via an official website had a chance of winning Halo 4-themed prizes.112 The contest was open from October 22, 2012, until December 30, 2012; entering participants also received a free code for a Halo 4 Xbox 360 avatar outfit.112 Microsoft partnered with American Express to offer a promotion for eligible card holders in the United States and United Kingdom.113 Card holders who sync their American Express card with their Xbox Live account receive coupons and credits and are also rewarded with additional credits and coupons for obtaining achievements in Halo 4.113 Microsoft also offered Halo 4 armor, for Xbox Live avatars, to people who watched at least thirty minutes of footage from the 2012 United States presidential debates on their Xbox 360.114 editPromotional videos See also: Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn At E3 2011, Halo 4 was announced with a trailer, titled "Awakening".115116 It was directed by Joseph Kosinski and visual effects were created by animation company Digital Domain.115116 Both Kosinski and Digital Domain had collaborated previously on the Halo 3 "Starry Night" commercial.115116117 The trailer is set on the UNSC frigate Forward Unto Dawn during the opening events of Halo 4.116 It depicts the Master Chief being awakened from cryonic sleep by Cortana, as the remnants of the frigate drift towards Requiem.116 On April 30, 2012, it was announced that a web series, titled Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, would play on Machinima Prime and Halo Waypoint during the weeks leading up to the release for Halo 4.118119 The series debuted on October 5, 2012, and contained five 15-minute live action shorts.11118119120121 It was directed by Stewart Hendler and the project was Microsoft's largest investment in a live action promotion.118119120 The series is set in 2526, 31 years before the events of Halo 4 at the beginning of the Human/Covenant war.1151118 The plot is centered around the character Thomas Lasky, who appears in the video game, he is primarily portrayed by Australian actor Tom Green in the live action series.121 The series also ties in with the plot of the Halo 4 campaign and Spartan Ops mode.11118 The Master Chief is featured in the latter part of the series, and is played by actor Daniel Cudmore.118121 A full-size model of the Halo 4 Warthog at the Microsoft booth of E3 2012. At E3 2012, the presentation of Halo 4 was preceded with a live action segment called "The Commissioning".122 The video was directed by Nicolai Fuglsig and filmed over two and a half days, with four weeks of post-production and visual effects were added by Method Studios.122 Music in the trailer was scored by Neil Davidge.72 The video shows the UNSC Infinity vessel being pulled within the confines of the planet Requiem.7172 Mark Rolston portrays Captain Andrew Del Rio in the live action video.7172 On October 18, 2012, the Halo 4 launch trailer, titled "Scanned", was revealed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.123 The trailer was produced by David Fincher and directed by Tim Miller.123 Fincher is best known for his work as a film director; some of his notable works include Fight Club (1999), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and The Social Network (2010).123 The trailer was filmed in Prague and features both CGI and live action sequences.123124 It shows Master Chief, bound by a force shield, being approached by an enemy.124 The enemy moves to towards John, scanning his mind to find the source of his strength and search for weaknesses.124 A live action sequence proceeds with flashbacks of John's past; showing him being kidnapped as a child, the Spartan-II augmentation procedure, and him being suited into his MJOLNIR armor.124 The trailer then shows John attacking Promethean Knights, before returning to the scene of him bound and being faced by his enemy, the Didact.124 On October 23, 2012, the Halo 4 launch gameplay trailer was revealed; it featured segments of gameplay footage from the campaign and multiplayer.125 In October 2012, visual effects company Framestore assisted advertising agency McCann London in producing live TV adverts for Halo 4.126127128 The adverts aired on November 9, 2012; they featured live data on how many people were playing Halo 4 online, correct to within five minutes of the broadcast.128 editSales Halo 4 grossed US$220 million on its launch day, with an estimated gross of $300 million in its opening week, marking a new record for the franchise.1 More than one million people played Halo 4 on Xbox Live within the first 24 hours of release.2 While Halo 4 debuted at the top of the UK Video Games Chart and became the eighteenth biggest launch ever in the UK, it failed to beat the week one sales records of Halo 3 and Halo: Reach.129 U.S. retail tracking firm NPD reported that Halo 4 was the second most sold retail video game of November 2012, the third most sold retail video game of December 2012, and the third most sold retail video game of year.130131 As of the December 6, 2012, the game has sold approximately four million copies.3 In 2012, Halo 4 was the third most played game on Xbox Live based on average unique users per day.132 editPost-release Halo 4 supports downloadable content (DLC), which is available to download via the Xbox Live Marketplace.133 Three War Games map packs, each containing three maps, are planned for release.133 The first map package was released on December 10, 2012, it is titled the "Crimson Map Pack" and contains the maps: "Wreckage", "Harvest" and "Shatter".133134 Players who were awarded early access to Specializations also received complimentary access to the Crimson Map Pack, for a limited time.22 The second collection, titled the "Majestic Map Pack", is set for release on February 25, 2013, and it contains the maps: "Landfall", "Monolith" and "Skyline".133135136 The third set of maps is titled the "Castle Map Pack" and is set for release in April 2013, it contains the maps: "Daybreak", "Outcast" and "Perdition".133 The map packs can be purchased individually or by acquiring the Halo 4 War Games Pass which will give access to all three of the forthcoming map packs.133 The pass is included in the Limited Edition version of the game and is available to purchase on the Xbox Live Marketplace.133 On December 6, 2012, 343 Industries announced a free-to-enter Halo 4 tournament, titled Halo 4 Infinity Challenge and sponsored by Virgin Gaming.137138 Players could register on the Halo 4 Infinity Challenge website to take part in the tournament, giving them the opportunity to win various prizes.137138 The qualifier phase of the tournament took place from December 17, 2012, until January 10, 2013, and the finals phase took place from January 12, 2013, until January 19, 2013.137138 Aside from map packs, the game is supported by regular matchmaking playlist updates.135 These updates make playlist and balance changes, sandbox tweaks and fix minor glitches. On December 6, 2012, a first title update was released to fix various game issues and glitches.139 On December 6, 2012, 343 Industries announced that Spartan Ops would go on a mid-season break starting December 10, 2012, and would resume later in January 2013.140 On January 21, 2013, the second half of Spartan Ops was made available via free download from the Xbox Live Marketplace.141142143 On January 29, 2013, an in-game search feature was implemented for Halo 4's file sharing system; a web version of Halo 4 File Share is coming to the Halo Waypoint website in late February 2013.141 In April 2013, 343 Industries plans to launch a competitive skill ranking system more akin to that featured in Halo 2 and Halo 3 Halo 4 has received generally positive reviews, with aggregate review websites GameRankings and Metacritic assigning scores of 87.61% and 87/100, respectively.145146 Ryan McCaffrey of IGN gave Halo 4 a very positive review, considering it to be the best game of the series and the best Xbox 360 game of 2012; he called it "a bar-raising triumph for the entire first-person shooter genre."21 He praised the game's lighting, movements, and animations, and lauded the campaign for its pacing, "deftly mixing on-foot combat, vehicle sequences, quiet story moments, and key Chief-and-Cortana interactions."21 Although Neil Davidge's work on the musical composition was noted as a "bold shift", McCaffrey claimed the music seemed "complementary rather than additive."21 Many reviewers were impressed by 343 Industries' debut effort and considered it a worthy addition to the series.821150152 Halo 4's campaign received a varied reception from critics. Reviewers enjoyed Master Chief's return as the protagonist, and the emotional connection between Master Chief and Cortana was highly praised.148151152 Mike Mahardy of Game Informer complimented the characterization improvements of Chief and Cortana, calling their evolved love story more "focused" and "relatable" to the player, in comparison to the "cloudy and impersonal" stories from the prior games of the franchise.161 GameSpot editor, Chris Watters, described the "thrilling and emotional return of Master Chief and Cortana" as the highlight of game.152 GamesRadar maintained that the narrative was enthralling and the campaign's structure was much better than its predecessors.153 1UP.com reviewer Jose Otero was critical of Halo 4's story, writing that the ending of the game "doesn't make a lot of sense". He also remarked that while the narrative tied the main plot lines together well, it was disappointing to see some of the smaller story points were ignored entirely.8 Both G4 and Official Xbox Magazine agreed that the plot became convoluted on occasions and might be difficult to understand for new players of the franchise.150155 Michael Gapper of Computer and Video Games drew a comparison between Halo 4 and Halo 2.147 He stated that the hardware limitations of the Xbox 360 had negatively impacted Halo 4's campaign, in the same way that they had throttled Bungie's ambitions for Halo 2 on the original Xbox.147 He explained that although the game was visually stunning, this had detracted from the scale and spectacle that was present in Halo 3's campaign.147 He found the spaces within the campaign to be narrow and constrained which lead to a lack of tactical options in encounters.